Last reviewed: 12 August 2026. The 2026 reform that made FSSAI licences perpetual has created a dangerous half-truth — that once the licence is permanent, the paperwork is over. The annual return survived the reform, and so did its ₹100-a-day late fee. Every food manufacturer and importer holding a State or Central licence must file Form D1 on FoSCoS by 31 May for the previous financial year — the FY 2025-26 return fell due on 31 May 2026, so a business that has not filed is already on the late-fee meter. Here is who files, who is exempt, what the form asks, and how the fee cap works.
Who must file — and the 2026 threshold twist
| Business | Form D1? |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer (own brand or third party), repacker, relabeller — State or Central licence | Yes — every year |
| Importer of food products | Yes — every year |
| Manufacturer-exporter (Central licence) | Yes |
| Trader, wholesaler, distributor, retailer | No |
| Restaurant, caterer, cloud kitchen (no manufacturing licence category) | No |
| Transporter, warehouse/cold storage | No |
| Basic Registration holder (turnover up to ₹1.5 crore) | No — the return attaches to licences |
The April 2026 threshold change quietly moved many small manufacturers out of Form D1 altogether: the return is a licence obligation, and a manufacturer whose turnover sits below ₹1.5 crore now falls in the Basic Registration band. Two cautions before you rely on that. First, several businesses must hold a licence irrespective of turnover — exporters need the Central licence, for instance — and the return follows the licence. Second, if you held a licence for part of FY 2025-26, the return for that year is still due. Our guide to the new thresholds and perpetual validity covers who sits in which band.
What Form D1 actually asks
Product-wise operating data for the year: what you manufactured or imported, quantities in tonnes, sale value, and for importers the countries and ports involved. It is filed licence-wise on FoSCoS — a business with three licences files three returns, even under one PAN and one GST registration. The data must hold together with your books: quantity and value figures that cannot be reconciled to your GST returns and financial statements are an invitation for questions from either regulator. That reconciliation — D1 to GSTR-1 to books — is exactly the kind of tie-out we run before filing.
The late fee, worked out
₹100 per day from 1 June, capped at five times the annual licence fee. A manufacturer on a ₹3,000-a-year State licence therefore faces a maximum of ₹15,000 per return year:
| Filed on | Days late | Late fee |
|---|---|---|
| 15 June 2026 | 15 | ₹1,500 |
| 29 August 2026 | 90 | ₹9,000 |
| 18 December 2026 | 200 | ₹15,000 (capped — 5 × ₹3,000) |
The cap keeps the money survivable; the record is the real cost. Unfiled returns sit on your licence, block housekeeping actions on FoSCoS, and — under the risk-based inspection framework that began in April 2026 — feed the compliance history that decides how often an inspector visits you.
Common mistakes we keep correcting
- Assuming perpetual validity ended annual returns — it did not; the fee and the return both survive.
- A trader filing D1 needlessly — or a repacker assuming "we don't manufacture" and skipping it (repacking and relabelling count as manufacturing here).
- One consolidated return for multiple licences — FoSCoS wants one per licence.
- D1 quantities that contradict GST turnover — reconcile before you file, not after a notice.
- Leaving it to the last week of May, when FoSCoS is at its slowest.
Frequently asked questions
What is the due date for the FSSAI annual return?
31 May every year, for the financial year that ended on the preceding 31 March. The FY 2025-26 Form D1 was due by 31 May 2026 on FoSCoS. Milk and milk-product units additionally file half-yearly Form D2 — by 31 October for April–September and by 30 April for October–March.
Who is exempt from filing Form D1?
Pure traders, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, restaurants, caterers, transporters and storage operators do not file it, and neither do Basic Registration holders — the return attaches to State and Central licences of manufacturers (including repackers and relabellers) and importers.
What is the penalty for late filing of the FSSAI return?
₹100 per day of delay, capped at five times the annual licence fee under FSSAI’s order of 10 November 2022. On a ₹3,000 State-licence fee the worst case is ₹15,000 per return year — but unfiled returns also weigh on your compliance history under the 2026 risk-based inspection framework.
My manufacturing unit’s turnover is ₹90 lakh. Do I still file?
If you have migrated to Basic Registration under the ₹1.5-crore threshold effective 1 April 2026, no — the return is a licence obligation. But a return is still due for any year in which you held a licence, and businesses that need a licence irrespective of turnover (exporters, for example) stay in the Form D1 net.
I hold three FSSAI licences for three units. One return or three?
Three — Form D1 is filed per licence on FoSCoS, even where the units share one PAN, one GST registration and one set of accounts. Each return should reconcile to that unit’s share of your books.
How does a CA firm help with FSSAI returns?
We maintain the licence-wise compliance calendar, reconcile D1 quantities and values with GST returns and audited books before filing, file on FoSCoS, and clear late-fee arrears where history needs regularising — so the licence record stays clean for inspections, tenders and buyer audits.
We file Form D1/D2 licence-wise, reconcile the data with your GST and books, regularise late-fee arrears and keep the FoSCoS record inspection-ready.
FSSAI Registration & Compliance Bookkeeping & Accounting Talk to usThis article is general information as on 12 August 2026, based on the FSS Act, 2006, the Licensing and Registration Regulations as amended in 2026 and FSSAI orders including the late-fee order dated 10 November 2022. Portal behaviour and orders change; confirm the current position on FoSCoS or take advice before acting.